Upgraded and Simplified Brutus 10 Control Panel

[Irrenarzt]

Mine were plastic and I had to sand them down to fit a 1/4" thermowell. They were slightly bigger than 0.250"...

 

[jcorni]

Thanks

 

[TinyD]

Wow!! Hope mine looks that nice when completed. Thanks for all the information in these threads. I have been gathering up all the material for my own Brutus 10 and hope to start fabrication this weekend.

 

[MagooBrew]

The aluminum started to anneal after about 100 batches. I was not planning on upgrading as I was going to replace my upper cross members with a double wide profile member (like a 2x4 instead of a 2x2) which were starting to sag. But I was the steel place picking up a section of stainless rectangular box to make new legs for my conical (cheaper to buy a 10 foot stick and make your own leg extensions than to buy the OEM extensions) and they offered me a screaming deal on 2x2 box section SS so I bought enough to build a new frame on the spot. It was too good a deal to pass up.

I'm glad I made the new frame as the SS is much nicer. It doesn't get nearly as hot and I was able to upgrade my solenoids as well as replace all my steel parts with SS ones. Overall, I'm much happier with the SS frame and do not recommend aluminum unless you have a bunch of it sitting around gathering dust. If you brew a lot, then aluminum isn't a great choice. If you brew about 10 batches a year, the aluminum is probably sufficient. If you brew 50 batches a year, then it will not hold up.

The aluminum frame was far lighter which was a bonus for lifting the rig onto the trailer for offsite brew days (think Big Brew etc), but it gets insanely hot on the top level and made it really easy to burn yourself. You do learn to not touch the frame but you still get the occasional rub then sizzle. Much less chance of this with SS. And I was always geeking out over the integrated gas beam so I was able to do that this time around.

I hate to hear this as I was making up a list of 80/20 components as we speak. Where actually were you having issues? I use this product alot at work but never arpung heat. I mau jave to think about strut or sometjing else.

 

[Irrenarzt]

An 80/20 frame will still work but you'll need to re-engineer the top of the frame where it sees the most heat to either a 2x4 or 4x4 profile. I was using 2x2 cross members on a 2x4 main top perimeter and these cross members were what started to soften and sag. The main 2x4 frame showed no signs of annealing but if you heat aluminum long/hard enough, it will anneal/soften.

But if you are buying all new 80/20 for a frame, you might want to go SS as the costs are similar including welding. You just need to find a good welder who won't gouge you or learn to DIY. But if you are looking to save money, either SS or 80/20 are not the cheapest options.

 

[MagooBrew]

Money wasnt really the issue as much as asthetics and adjustabilty/functionality. With the 80/20 slot design adjustments are endless. Now I am thinking maybe a 3 tier with a 4 x 4 center 80/20 post. Something similar to a Top Tier but my own design. Thanks for the info.

 

[Irrenarzt]

The beauty of the 80/20 frame is you can slap anything on it without issues. Anything can be bolted right to it with ease. And it can be moved. And it's light. I could pick up the fully loaded frame and put it in the back of my truck myself. The SS is not as easy to lift.

On the SS frame, I had to machine a new pump clamp and have it welded on there, which was not a trivial exercise. For the rest of the stuff, I had to drill and tap holes, which wasn't a big deal but I cannot move these things ever.

The Top Tier style should work out OK. I was thinking of building one as a travel rig so I can bring stuff to other places to brew without so much hassle.

 

[BrokenDog]

The simplicity of your box looks exactly what I want to do in the near future..

 

[Irrenarzt]

I like to keep things simple.

 

[chadbraden]

I love this panel. Simple and elegant. I have a couple of questions. Where do you buy the anodized aluminum and who cuts and engraves it?

 

[Irrenarzt]

Thanks for the good words. You have to make it from scratch. You buy an aluminum plate, bend it and machine it to shape, drill the holes and make the cutouts, have it anodized at a local anodizer, then find a machinist with a CNC mill and you have them machine the engraving.